


Raising Androids

by Judayre



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: F/M, Not Starfleet au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-07-29 14:08:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7687516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Judayre/pseuds/Judayre
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Deanna gets sent out to hard children for nannies to work with.  She wasn't expecting the child in question to be an android.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Deanna got sent to all of the hard cases: the ones where they’d tried the magical good nanny, and they’d tried the drill sergeant bad nanny and decided that what was really needed was a therapist. Deanna did have a degree in psychiatry, but when she had decided that she really wanted to work with children and her mother had gotten so angry that they hadn’t spoken in years, she joined the nanny business.

The degree helped, and so did her empathy. She felt good about all of the good she did. But sometimes she wished she could just do a regular nanny job for once.

She stopped outside the neat, modest home and wondered what waited inside. She never read others’ notes until after her first day, wanting to form her own impressions, so all she knew was the client’s name: Data. Odd name on Earth, but they could come from any of a hundred different worlds, so who knew.

Nothing to come from waiting around - she rang the bell and waited. The door was opened by a man who was humanoid, but the golden skin said origin on another world. He seemed calm, but she wasn’t getting anything off him, which was unusual for species who looked as human as he did.

“Mr Data,” she greeted with a smile. "My name is Deanna Troi. I’ve been sent out to work with you and your child.“

He held his hand out for a shake but didn’t smile, so Deanna let her face return to a friendly neutral.

"Thank you for coming, Ms Troi,” Data said, stepping back so she could enter. He raised his voice very slightly and called into the house. "Lal, come to the entry now, please.“

"Lal,” Deanna repeated. "That’s a pretty name.“

"It is a Hindi word meaning ‘beloved,’” Data told her. "We have had difficulty retaining a nanny. Lal is a unique child.“

Deanna smiled again. Just like every parent, believing their own offspring to be an amazing genius unlike any other. She was good at flattering that belief while helping parents to understand the reality that their children were normally well within the average range of abilities.

"I am here, father. Where is Mr Jensen who came yesterday?”

It was more than Deanna could do to hide her surprise. A young woman - not a child - had said this. She was almost as tall as Deanna herself, with the same dark hair as her father and a light but fully human skin tone. Deanna got no sense off of her either.

“This is Ms Troi, Lal. I expect you to do as you are told and learn from her while I am away.” Data looked at Deanna. "You see, Lal is an android, as am I.“


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deanna watches Lal and figures out what they need to work on.

Deanna spent the morning watching Lal. The young android spent the entire time working intently at her computer. It seemed to be an educational program, running her through hundreds of different subjects at deeper and deeper levels as she answered fact based questions correctly.

A nearby building had a bell that chimed the hour. When it was noon, Lal turned from her computer.

“Are you not going to say that it is time for lunch, Ms Troi?”

Deanna’s eyes widened slightly. “Do you require food, Lal?”

“I do not,” the android answered. “However, the previous nannies insisted that we respect mealtimes.”

“Very well,” Deanna answered, pushing herself to her feet. “Certainly I need food even if you don't. Afterward, we can talk about what services I can provide you. Does that sound like an acceptable use of the afternoon?”

Lal answered by rising to her feet and leading the way to the kitchen. It was lightly stocked - although with a pair of androids in the house Deanna was surprised it was stocked at all. She made herself a sandwich, poured a glass of lemonade, and sat at the table across from Lal. The android watched her in silence, studying the au she chewed and swallowed until Deanna felt like she was exaggerating her movements.

She moved them to a couch in another room when she had finished cleaning up after herself. Lal sat stiffly and Deanna had to keep reminding herself not to do the same.

“Well,” she started, “I think you are quite self sufficient. You spent the morning very well engaged in your studies without any reminders. I'm sure you can dress yourself and deal with emergencies. You have no need of food, so no need for someone to cook for you. In all of these ways, you have no need for a ‘nanny,’ Lal.”

The android’s head tilted slightly. “Do you mean to say that you will not be returning, Ms Troi?” she asked.

“Not at all,” Deanna answered. “However, the term nanny most often refers to a person who tends to a child who cannot see to their own needs. You certainly can, so I think our relationship will be very different.”

Lal looked down for a moment, then back up. “Please state the nature of our relationship.”

Deanna smiled. “I can see that you are well able to do your academic work on your own - although I would like to talk about inferences and analysis with you. Your largest weakness seems to lie in the area of social engagement and understanding, which makes perfect sense to me. I believe my task is to act as a tutor to you in this area. I have training in it and I'm sure we can make good progress together. What do you think?”

“What is the purpose of social engagement?” Lal asked.

“That is a complicated question,” Deanna answered, clasping her hands around one knee. “Organic beings often crave the companionship of other beings. Most space going species evolved from some form of animal that lived in a pack. The theory is that the socialization and the need for more complicated social understanding is one of the things that led to sentience in many cases.”

Lal’s head tilted again. “T’mitu of the Vulcan Science Academy speculates that lack of socialization led to the telepathic powers of the Ionian species of Gamma Iota IV. Ferengi paleoanthropologist Meeg has drawn parallels between the increase of brain size in proto-Ferengi with evidence of trade and acquisition. Komas of QoNos believes that there can be no code of honor among lower life forms and that it is only the development of a society that was able to conceive of honor that led to the creation of the Klingon empire--”

Deanna let her continue, overwhelmed by the amount of information about evolution and evolutionary theory being stated in the almost inflectionless voice of the other woman. Finally, Lal wound down and looked directly at Deanna. “I understand your concern, Ms Troi. Increasing my ability to understand others is an acceptable use of time.”

“Good,” Deanna said. “I will be prepared tomorrow. Today you may use the rest of the afternoon as you please.”

“I do not feel a sense of pleasure,” Lal answered, blinking twice.

Deanna sighed with a smile. “It is a phrase that means you can do what you want,” she explained.

Lal rose, and Deanna followed and watched her log into the educational program again. Certainly it was a good thing for her to practice using all of the knowledge that had to be in her head, but Deanna made a note to bring games and videos to broaden the social curriculum she had been trained in.

When Data returned in the evening, Deanna discussed the situation with him. He thanked her for choosing to remain with them and for choosing to pursue an area in which he had little practical understanding. She smiled at him, assured him that she felt he was doing a good job and wished him a good night. She had a lot of planning to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am an educator and have been trained in social thinking curriculum - curriculum designed to help autism spectrum adolescents cope in a neurotypical world. Expect a lot of this to make its way into Deanna's work with Lal.


End file.
